Monday, February 18, 2013

Will Halvorson have crossover appeal?

The promise/threat of party-crossover voting is almost always a phantom.

Since Illinois' primary voting system allows voters to choose their party ballot on the day of the election (as opposed to pre-registering party affiliation), it's always possible for voters to meddle in the opposition primary, an idea that's always most tempting when one of the party races is basically irrelevant.

In next Tuesday's special primary election for the Second U.S. Congressional seat left vacant by the resignation of Jesse Jackson Jr., for instance, it's widely acknowledged that the district is so blue that the winner of the Democratic race will coast to victory in the special general election in April. If those who typically vote Republican want to have a real say in who their next congressman will be, nothing can stop them from asking for a Democratic ballot.

I last wrote about this in 2000:

Democratic voters in Illinois' 10th U.S. Congressional District are facing a tough ethical decision.

Should they ask for a Democratic ballot March 21 in order to cast a meaningless primary vote for shoo-in presidential nominee Al Gore and to weigh in on a few lower-profile party contests?

Or should they ask for a Republican ballot in order to meddle in the tumultuous Republican primary, where 11 candidates are battling for the right to meet unopposed Democrat Lauren Beth Gash in a November general election with national implications?....

They could get behind one of the more moderate Republicans in the field--Shawn Donnelley, Mark Damisch, Andrew Hochberg and Mark Kirk are the most prominent--on the theory that if Gash loses in November, it would be better for her to lose to a moderate. Or they could vote in a block for the candidate many think is the leading social conservative in the race, attorney John Cox, on the theory that his hard-core views on abortion rights would not win a majority in the fall on the middle-of-the-road North Shore....

The idea of strategic voting is in the air....and there's absolutely nothing illegal about voters in open primaries taking the opposition's ballot with devilish intent.

But is it right? "It's bad form," said Democratic political consultant David Axelrod, who is not involved in the 10th District race. "You might say all's fair in love, war and politics, but it offends my sense of civics and decorum."

State Sen. Peter Roskam (R-Wheaton) agreed. "Each party should select their nominees, then come out swinging in November," he said. Mischief voting, he said, "feels like tampering to me."

Because mischief voting has the whiff of a dirty trick, no campaign will admit to encouraging it.

In the end, Kirk, now our junior U.S. senator, won the race and there was little evidence of significant crossover voting.

The Democratic race in the 2nd appears to be coming down to three candidates-- former U.S. Rep Debbie Halvorson, former state Rep. Robin Kelly and Chicago Ald. Anthony Beale. Halvorson, as the target of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's super PAC that's not happy her pro gun-rights position, would be the likely beneficiary of Republican support.

Bloomberg's advocacy role in this race further risks generating a backlash of "who does this New Yorker think he is, anyway?" support for Halvorson among members of both parties.

Who Bloomberg thinks he is, however, is obvious: He thinks he's the guy who's going to prove that you can take on the the National Rifle Association-- Kelly, his preferred candidate, has an F rating from the gun-rights group -- and win.

Posted at 04:51:11 PM

Comments

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To answer your question - Yes. In the 2nd, you could run Abe Lincoln and since he would have a (R) next to his name, he would not get 1/3 of the vote. So many 2nd Congressional District Republicans will cross-over and have a say in who their Congressman/woman will be. And since Halverson is not from Chicago nor Cook County, she will have broad appeal in the Will and Kankakee counties.

From the Tribune article "Robin is a friend, and has captured momentum in pulling our community together. I am simply unwilling to risk playing a role going forward that could result in dividing our community at time when we need unity more than ever," Hutchinson said in the statement.

Bu..bu..I thought liberals were altruistic...that they were not all looking out for their own narrow interests. Are you saying that blacks would vote for Kelly out of racial favoritism? Boy, that sure bursts my bubble.

And you believe what Axelrod says? As Axelrod stated "You might say all's fair in love, war and politics, but it offends my sense of civics and decorum." - I think over the past decade his sense of civics and decorum has been lowered quite a bit

If Axelrod had told EZ that he approved of the practice of crossing party lines to vote, it's likely that more Democrats would have done so in 2000 and maybe we'd have a Senator Gash instead of a Senator Kirk today. But he passed on that opportunity.

I don't believe it's bad form at all. (And David Alexrod, lecturing on decorum? Please.) Voters should choose the ballot where their vote will have the most impact, depending on where their hearts and minds are for that particular race. In this case, this is the only race on the ballot, right? So it's not like you could like some Republicans in some races and some Democrats in another. This is for all the marbles. Anyone who wants to make a difference is going to choose a Democratic ballot.

And is anyone else offended by Bloomberg's meddling? Let him stick to his own state.

--Here we have a fact coming into conflict with a piece of conservative dogma, and there is absolutely no sign that the conservatives here are reconsidering their ideology for even a half-second. Pretty typical.

Face it: Axelrod isn't some unprecedented dirty trickster, he's a smart tough strategist that any candidate would be lucky to have in his corner. One reason he's so effective is that he follows the data rather than waving it away when it conflicts with his prejudices. See if you can take a hint from that.

I fail to see how Bloomberg supporting candidates for the US House Of Representatives (not the Illinois House) who are willing to stand up to murder weapon manufacturers is a bad thing. Unless, of course, you believe Bloomberg shouldn't be meddling in national politics. This is not a minor local race, this is a race for US Congress.

About "Change of Subject."

"Change of Subject" by Chicago Tribune op-ed columnist Eric Zorn contains observations, reports, tips, referrals and tirades, though not necessarily in that order. Links will tend to expire, so seize the day. For an archive of Zorn's latest Tribune columns click here. An explanation of the title of this blog is here. If you have other questions, suggestions or comments, send e-mail to ericzorn at gmail.com.
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Contributing editor Jessica Reynolds is a 2012 graduate of Loyola University Chicago and is the coordinator of the Tribune's editorial board. She can be reached at jreynolds at tribune.com.